The $25,000 Challenge is organized by the Illinois Metro East Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The purpose of the Challenge is to identify, encourage and support entrepreneurs and business startups across the SBDC’s nine-county service area.

The first-place winner will receive a $15,000 cash prize. Two runners-up will receive $5,000 each. Prizewinners will also receive an array of in-kind professional services.

For the second year, PNC Bank is the Challenge’s top sponsor. Other returning sponsors include University Park at SIUE and the St. Louis Regional Chamber. The Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois joins the Challenge in 2015 as a major sponsor with additional support from the City of Edwardsville and Greater Belleville Chamber. SIUE’s School of Business, the SBDC’s host organization, will assist with facilitating the competition.

Patrick McKeehan, director of the SBDC in Edwardsville and East St. Louis, was pleased with last year’s results and believes the 2015 Challenge will build upon that success. “The Metro East Start-Up Challenge elevated the discussion of and support for entrepreneurship across our region,” McKeehan said. “The interest in this year’s Challenge started immediately after we announced our 2014 winners.”

One of those winners, Old Dutch Classics Bats founder Todd Eschman, used his cash prize and the competition experience to take his startup to the next level.

“The prize money immediately provided an unbudgeted infusion of capital and multiplied itself by giving me the ability to take advantage of economies of scale through bulk purchase of raw materials,” Eschman said. “But the greatest benefit of the Challenge was preparing an award-winning business plan.

“The rigorous process and the expert assistance of the SBDC helped me address holes in my plan and impress the judges. If I took the time to monetize the value of the Challenge in my first year in business, I'm certain it would surpass the amount written on the giant check.”

The 2015 Challenge invites entrepreneurs and startup businesses from four target industries: information technology, manufacturing, health care and food. For a startup business enterprise to be eligible, it must have been established after April 30, 2012 and be headquartered in the Illinois portion of the St. Louis Metro region (Calhoun, Jersey, Madison, Bond, Clinton, St. Clair, Washington, Monroe and Randolph counties). For pre-venture entrepreneurs, proposed new business operations will need to be located within the same nine counties.

The Metro East Start-Up Challenge includes three rounds, beginning with a brief questionnaire and executive summary submittal that is open to all applications that meet the eligibility guidelines. Participants selected for the second round are invited to expand on their business idea by submitting a full business plan. The last round is the “final pitch” in front of a panel of business experts.

For more information on the 2015 Challenge or to initiate the application process, go to siue.edu/metroeaststartup. The entry deadline is Friday, June 12. Semi-finalists will be announced Wednesday, June 17, with finalists notified on Monday, Aug. 3.

The Metro East Startup Challenge will announce its cash prizewinners on Friday, Sept. 4 in conjunction with the Leadership Council’s September Board Meeting in Collinsville.

The Illinois SBDC Network is a service to the community supported, in part, by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the Illinois Dept. of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and the SIUE School of Business.

SIUE operates two Small Business Development Centers and the International Trade Center. All three Centers provide resources, information and support to entrepreneurs, and small business owners in the nine-county Metro East region of Calhoun, Jersey, Madison, Bond, Clinton, St. Clair, Washington, Monroe and Randolph. By aiding entrepreneurs and companies in defining their path to success, the SBDC positively impacts the Metro East by strengthening the business community, creating and retaining new jobs, and encouraging new investment. When appropriate, the SBDC strives to affiliate its ties to the region to support the goals and objectives of both the SIUE School of Business and the University at large.

To learn how the SBDC can help your small business, contact the Metro East SBDC at (618) 650-2929 or sbdcedw@gmail.com.